Preventing Sinus Congestion During A Massage

By: Ben Crabtree, LMT,

Being a Massage Therapist I give a lot of massages to all sorts of people at my San Antonio, Texas practice. Like my clients I love to get a wonderful therapeutic massage as often as I can. However, like many other people I sometimes have a problem with sinus congestion while lying face down during the massage session. There are number of causes for the sinus congestion such as seasonal allergies, and irritants such as smoke, pollution, dust and molds. The sinus congestion makes it difficult to breath through the nose and properly enjoy the massage.

There are many things that Massage Therapists like myself do to assist clients with sinus congestion during the massage therapy session. Adjustments to the face rest are helpful as are acupressure points that help to relieve sinus pressure. Other things that are helpful include the use of essential oils like pine, eucalyptus, or peppermint to open up sinus passages. Less commonly used breathing aids include cold gel-filled face masks or nasal strips. The problem with all of these measures is that they're somewhat hit-or-miss, the best way to combat sinus congestion during massage is to prevent it in the first place.

My favorite method of preventing sinus congestion is sinus irrigation. Sinus irrigation is actually a very old way of coping with congestion, allergies, and post-nasal drip. Simply, sinus irrigation is exactly what it sounds like -using a saline solution to gently wash out mucous, dust, pollen, and other irritants. A popular method of sinus irrigation is to use a "neti" pot. It's a small pot that looks somewhat like a small teapot or gravy boat. To use the neti pot you fill it with a warm saline solution which is made with chlorine-free water (distilled or purified drinking water) and a packet(s) of pure salt. It's important that you don't use table salt to make your saline solution because table salt contains iodine and anti-coagulants that wouldn't be good for you. Once you've made your solution and filled the pot you will need to pour it in one nostril and let it run out the other. To perform the irrigation without swallowing the solution or feeling like you're drowning follow these steps:

Bend at the waist over a sink;

Rotate your head as though you're looking up at the ceiling;

Keeping your forehead down and chin up toward the ceiling, place the spout of the neti pot gently into the upper nostril allowing the saline solution to flow into your nose and out the lower nostril;

Allow the contents of the neti pot to wash out your sinus passages;

When the neti pot is empty keep your head down and forcefully exhale through your nose to blow out any excess saline solution, do this without holding your nostrils closed;

Repeat as necessary.

Performing sinus irrigation an hour or two prior to your massage can effectively reduce or eliminate sinus congestion so you can enjoy your massage more. In addition to removing mucous and irritants that cause congestion from your sinuses, the salt in the saline solution is also effective in relieving swelling of sinus membranes.

Sinus irrigation is a simple and safe method of reducing sinus congestion and post-nasal drip but there are some conditions which might make it contraindicated for you. Please check with your doctor prior to performing any sinus irrigation.

About the Author:
Ben Crabtree is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Massage Instructor, and Certified Neuromuscular Therapist in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Crabtree can be reached through his website massagebyben.com.